Cheick Diallo came to New York from Bamako, Mali, with grand dreams of playing big-time college basketball and one day reaching the NBA.

Those lofty aspirations don’t seem so unrealistic now.

Two years after leaving home and three years after picking up a basketball for the first time, the 6-foot-9 dynamo has emerged as one of the top prep juniors in the country.

After a big sophomore year at Our Savior New American on Long Island, Diallo spent the summer playing alongside the top prospects in the country and impressing virtually everyone with his shot-blocking ability, relentless rebounding and improving versatility on offense. His signature trait, however, is his always-on, seemingly electric-powered motor.

“Every game or practice he plays it like it’s a championship game,” Our Savior assistant coach Eric Jaklitsch said of Diallo, who led local Team Scan to a big summer on the AAU circuit and was the MVP of the NBPA Top 100 camp.

In a pair of all-star games in August in the city featuring top-tier prospects, Diallo stood out, getting the better of Las Vegas phenom Stephen Zimmerman, ranked as the top junior in the country.

“I like competing against the best players,” said Diallo, ranked sixth overall by Rivals.com. “I need to be No. 1 in the country.”

He’s trending that way.

Diallo holds more than 25 scholarship offers, Jaklitsch said, from the likes of Ohio State, St. John’s, Arizona, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Kansas. A decision is a long way off.

“He’s the No. 1 player in New York — regardless of class,” said Terrence “Munch” Williams, his AAU coach with Team Scan. “It’s about what he does. That kid performs every single game and he brings intangibles every single game. There’s not a lot kids in the country who are going to get you a double-double every night, get three or four blocks. He takes no plays off. He’s efficient [on offense]. You can’t really find anything wrong with him.”

Leaving his parents and five older siblings in Mali was a “hard” decision, Diallo said. He quit soccer in favor of basketball at his father’s suggestion and was spotted playing in a local league by a friend of Jaklitsch.

His transition was made easier by going to Our Savior with Mali native Kassoum Yakwe. Current St. John’s sophomore Felix Balamou, another French speaker who was at Our Savior for Diallo’s freshman year, also helped him adjust to life in America.

Diallo has dazzled not only on the court. He has excelled in his classes, putting him on pace to qualify academically for college, according to Jaklitsch, and his English has drastically improved. He’s well-liked at the Long Island private school, described by Jaklitsch as a “warm, fun-loving kid” who lets his actions speak louder than his words.

“He’s a really diligent kid,” the coach said.

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Bishop Loughlin senior shooting guard Khadeen Carrington visited Seton Hall unofficially on Thursday and plans to see Texas A&M, Cincinnati and Vanderbilt shortly. He wants to use one of his five officials visits to Seton Hall as well, his mother Lima Dufont said.

“It was really nice,” she said. “We want to go back.”

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Guard Isaiah Whitehead, the top prospect in the city, will take an unofficial visit to Seton Hall next Saturday. Minnesota and Pittsburgh will be in Coney Island to see him on Wednesday.

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Highly ranked Bronx wing Terry Larrier was scheduled to take an official visit to Miami this weekend, but it was canceled because of a scheduling snafu, said Williams, his AAU coach. Larrier will take an official visit to VCU next weekend.

“It’s all about how he feels,” Williams said of Larrier, who attends The Phelps School in Pennsylvania. “If he’s in love with VCU, he’ll pick it. If not, he’ll look at something else and weight everything.”